Thunder Strikes: Wednesday Edition

Sam Presti wanted meaningful games at the end of the season, and that's what he's getting when the Thunder host the Jazz tonight. We'll tell you why you can be confident in an Oklahoma City win.

Sam Presti says he wants to play meaningful games at the end of the season, well here we are. With only 18 games left, none of them get any more significant than this, for now. 

When the Oklahoma City takes the court against Utah on Wednesday, they will be just a game behind the Jazz for the fourth seed in the western conference. The Thunder is rolling after a 3-0 east coast road trip culminating in a 105-104 win over the Celtics. 

✨@CP3✨

🃏📖⌚️🚰🧢📱🦉 https://t.co/Fa7EviEsvA

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 11, 2020

Shai Gilgous-Alexander was on the bench for that game with a hip contusion. Billy Donovan says that Gilgeous-Alexander was going to be re-evaluated on Tuesday, to make sure he's on track to return for Tonight's night's matchup.  

The Jazz has won five of their last six, and are coming off a 101-92 loss to the Raptors. Noted Thunder killer Joe Ingels went 4/8 from beyond the arc scoring 20 points in 32 minutes.   

On the injury front, the Thunder will be without Darius Bazley, but he is progressing in his rehab and is scheduled to be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks. The Jazz is missing Nigel Williams-Goss, who is out with a left quad contusion. Who? Jazz fans probably have the same reaction. 

Williams-Goss is averaging 0.4 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 3.1 minutes. Williams-Goss has played in nine games. 

📸 a look behind the scenes at team picture day pic.twitter.com/FaPWBMMaI8

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 10, 2020

While non-essential personnel will be kept out of locker rooms because of the COVID-19 scare, Danilo Gallinari's home country of Italy has 631 confirmed deaths. On Tuesday, Gallinair addressed how the virus is affecting his family.

  "Life has changed when you can not get out of the house; you can not have any contact with anybody."..."You can only get out of the house when you have to, for example, going to the grocery store."..."Then not have any contact with anybody; my mom and her brothers are not able to see my grandparents because of their age, they could be the most affected."

 While the NBA has decided not to close games to fans, for now, the MAC and Big West, on the other hand, will both play their conference tournaments without people in the stands. The Ivy League is taking the extra step to cancel their conference tournaments altogether.     

Reasons To Feel Good:

The Thunder are 19-2 vs. the Jazz inside the Peake and currently has a 16 game win streak against Utah at home.  The Thunder and Jazz last met in December. Dennis Schroder scored 27 as Oklahoma City beat Utah 104-90. 

Where To Watch: 

Game time is at 7 pm on Fox Sports Oklahoma. 

What Do You Think?

Tell us how many points Dennis Schroder scores on Wednesday vs. the Jazz. Just click the comment box and leave your message.